Film and Tv Comedy Series

Film and TV TV / Comedy series Teacher’s notes

1. Speak (5 minutes) Aims: to generate interest in the topic of comedy, to make students think about words with multiple meanings, to provide spoken practice of joke-telling Age: Teenager/Young adults Procedure: Ask students to read the two jokes. Then decide Level: Advanced (C1) in small groups whether they understand the jokes. Remind Time: 90+ mins with 30 mins optional webquest them that jokes are difficult to understand when they are Activity: In this lesson, students will: not in your native language. Elicit the double meanings and the ideas of the jokes. Ask students to share other jokes in 1. practise speaking about comedy and English. Remind them not to tell offensive jokes! There is a sense of humour and incorporate useful good chance that they won’t know any jokes in English so new vocabulary relevant to this topic; be prepared to share one or two of your own. 2. improve listening comprehension Key: of real-life English from TV comedy programmes; Joke 1: If something is ‘a big plus’, it means that it is a big advantage (e.g. ‘My new job isn’t very interesting 3. utilise new language from this lesson but the high salary is a big plus’). Also, the white in order to complete a webquest and cross on the Swiss flag looks like a big plus (where present it orally. ‘plus’ refers to the mathematical symbol ‘+’). Language focus: speaking, listening, vocabulary, Joke 2: The word ‘cool’ can mean ‘fashionable’ and also reading ‘at a low temperature’. The stereotype of a hipster Materials: one copy of the worksheet per student, a is that they say things like ‘I was using Snapchat PC or projector, an internet connection in the classroom before it was cool’ (to express the idea that they (the optional webquest activity will require the use of discover trends before the general population). smartphones or multiple computers) 2. Vocabulary, pronunciation and speak (20 minutes) Notes: Aims: to expand students’ vocabulary for describing different 1. WARNING: This lesson refers to two online videos types of humour, to focus on the pronunciation of new words, taken from comedy TV series. While these videos to incorporate this vocabulary when speaking about comedy, don’t contain explicit material, you should watch the to personalise the topic of comedy videos before the lesson to judge whether they are Procedure: You could introduce this activity by showing appropriate for the particular group of students. the poster for a famous comedy movie on the board (e.g. 2. This lesson contains exercises which focus on Zoolander, Airplane, Anchorman, etc). Alternatively, you listening, speaking, reading and vocabulary. If could simply write the name of a movie. Get the students you wish to maximise class time for listening and to suggest adjectives to describe the type of humour in speaking, you could ask students to complete the this movie (e.g. silly, clever, etc). Ask students to work reading and vocabulary exercises as preparatory in pairs to complete 2a. Then elicit the correct answers. homework before the lesson. It would then only be Also try to elicit slight differences in meaning between necessary to quickly correct these parts in class. some synonyms. For example, ‘satirical’ is often related to The exercises which could be done as preparatory politics, ‘twisted’ often gives the idea of dark humour, ‘witty’ homework are marked with a symbol. gives the idea of clever humour which is also very fast.

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Key: Procedure: Tell students that they are going to read a short text about British humour. Allow them about five minutes to ironic ridiculous strange intelligent read the text individually. Remind them not to worry about sarcastic ludicrous weird smart expressions which they don’t fully understand. Monitor and satirical farcical bizarre witty explain problem words to weaker students. Then ask them twisted preposterous out-there sharp to talk in pairs to decide the answers to the initial three questions. Elicit the answers to the three questions. Pronounce all the adjectives in the table, placing the Key: emphasis on the correct syllable. Once you’ve finished, • Self-deprecating comedy is when you make jokes in elicit the strong syllable in each multi-syllabic word. Then which you are the target of the joke. This means that you allow the students to practise saying the adjectives in pairs. make yourself look bad so that other people can laugh. Monitor and give feedback on any incorrect pronunciation. Ask students to briefly discuss the questions in 2c in pairs. • Honesty is funny because facts are usually much funnier Remind them to use vocabulary from the previous tasks. than fiction. Monitor their responses. If there are students who are not • A good joke can be funny and make people laugh a little interested in comedy, encourage them to explain why. At the but a good story can be hilarious and make people laugh end of the activity give some feedback, drawing attention to a lot. pronunciation and good language which students used. Give students about five minutes to complete 4b in 3. Listen and speak (15 minutes) the same pairs. Remind them to refer to the text from the previous task as it provides the context for each Aims: to provide listening practice of understanding a TV expression. Elicit the correct answers. Encourage students show, to provide spoken practice of language related to to think about whether each expression has an equivalent comedy and cartoons in the students’ native languages. Procedure: Play the video. Ask students in pairs to briefly compare answers to the four questions. Play it again and Key: let students decide their final answers in pairs. Elicit the Vocabulary from the text Definition answers. Ask students to briefly discuss the final questions 1. a loser (G) a person without success in pairs. Give feedback. Focus on ideas which students 2. to do stand-up (D) to perform comedy have mentioned which could be relevant to the next task monologues in front of an (ironic, self-deprecating humour). audience Key: 3. to giggle (A) to laugh a little a. The assistant describes the boss as funny and attractive (and there’s a rumour that he’s also rich). 4. to crack up (E) to laugh a lot b. The little man first says that everything will be great 5. a punchline (B) the funny sentence at the but then panics when he realises that he is in front of a end of a joke big audience. 6. a one-liner (I) a very short joke or a c. The assistant asks if he should release the hounds brief, funny comment (this expression gives the idea of police dogs who 7. to have dry humour (H) to be very funny but aggressively chase and catch the criminal). without showing emotion, d. They feel entertained by the aggressive dogs and often in a sarcastic way conclude that this year’s seminar is rather good. 8. to have (somebody) in (F) to make another person 4. Read, vocabulary and speak (30 minutes) stitches laugh a lot Aims: to practise understanding of a short text, to expand 9. to bomb (C) to tell a joke which vocabulary and expressions related to comedy and sense nobody finds funny of humour, to understand and tell funny stories •

Allow students to read the instructions for 4c. Perhaps you Procedure: Students work in pairs. Allow them to read could tell them a funny story from your own life to inspire the instructions of Task 6. If certain students simply don’t them to do the same. Give them 2–3 minutes to think of a know about any sitcoms, encourage them instead to think story and how to incorporate information from the text in 4a of a comedy movie. Allow students a few minutes each to (e.g. what was the conflict of the story?). Give each student describe their chosen sitcom to their partner. Monitor and a few minutes to tell their story to their partner. Monitor provide feedback. and help students with vocabulary where necessary. 7. Webquest (optional, 30 minutes) Finally, provide some overall feedback. If you have noticed Aims: to research information online, to prepare and give any particularly funny stories, ask these students if they a group presentation, to provide further spoken practice of would like to share their story with the whole class expressions related to laughing and comedy (if appropriate). Procedure: Split the class into groups (ideally six groups 5. Listen and speak (15 minutes) in total). Assign one viral video from the table to each Aims: to provide further listening practice of understanding group. Before students begin to look for their assigned a TV show, to provide spoken practice of reacting to video online, ask them to discuss whether they are familiar a comedy scene and incorporate expressions from with it (there’s a high chance that they will have seen it previous tasks before). Allow each group a few minutes to complete Procedure: Play the video. Ask students in pairs to briefly Step 2. Monitor to make sure that each group has found compare answers to the four questions. Play it again and the correct video for their group. While various versions of let students decide their final answers in pairs. Elicit the each video exist, the original links are the following: answers. Ask students to briefly discuss the final questions JK Wedding Entrance Dance in pairs. Give feedback, focusing especially on language to www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0 describe types of humour and on varying opinions of what Professor Robert Kelly’s BBC interview students find funny. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY Key: Ultimate Dog Tease a. The first instruction is to stand the extinguisher upright www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw (this means that the extinguisher must be vertical, not Olly the Jack Russell at Cruft’s Dog Show horizontal). The man thinks that the instruction refers to www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4N7G29GWQI him so he stands upright. Charlie Bit My Finger b. The extinguisher is now on fire so he thinks it would be a www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM good idea to put the two fires together. Matt McAllister’s Most T-shirts Worn at Once c. He phones the wrong country. He needs the emergency www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6tlw-oPDBM number for the UK. We imagine that maybe he has Allow each group another few minutes to complete phoned his company’s technical helpdesk which is Step 3. Explain to them that they will need to present the located in a different country. information to the class so they will need to compile it in a d. He decides that the initial email was too formal so he way which is easy to understand. Encourage each group to writes a second email. The second email still sounds present their video and information to the class by dividing very formal but he uses many exclamation marks to give the content of the presentation between the members of a sense of urgency. the group (e.g. one student gives an introduction, another 6. Speak (10 minutes) talks about why the video became famous, etc). At the Aims: to allow students the chance to personalise the end of each presentation, encourage the class to ask topic of the lesson by talking about shows that they find questions to the presenting group. Provide feedback on funny, to incorporate language from previous tasks into a the presentations and have a vote for the funniest video. speaking activity •

1. Speak Look at the jokes in the box. Each joke has an underlined part which has a double meaning. With your partner, try to decide the double meaning.

Joke 1 Joke 2

Question: What’s the best thing about Switzerland? Question: How did the hipster burn his mouth?

Answer: I don’t know, but their flag isa big plus. Answer: He drank his coffee before it was cool.

Do you know any jokes in English? Tell the class!

2a. Vocabulary

TV comedy series have many different types of humour. The table below suggests three synonyms for each of the four title adjectives. Complete the table using the words given. ludicrous / weird / smart / sharp / preposterous / sarcastic

ironic ridiculous strange intelligent

satirical farcical bizarre witty

twisted out-there

2b. Pronunciation

Now listen to your teacher’s pronunciation of the words. Underline the strong syllable. Compare with your classmate and practise saying the words.

2c. Speak

Discuss the items below with your classmate.

Describe a famous comedian from your country and his/her type of humour.

Describe a comedy TV programme from your country. What is your opinion of it? • Describe a person you know who you find funny (from your friends, family, workmates, etc).

3. Listen and speak You are going to watch a scene from the American series The Simpsons (Fox). It shows the awful moment when you need to make a speech but the previous speaker has already used the joke that you prepared. Watch the video and answer the questions below. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM1g53KOAwY

a. How is the boss described by his assistant?

b. What contradictory message is given by the little imaginary character?

c. When the speech goes wrong, what question is asked by the boss’s assistant?

d. What conclusion is made by the audience members?

Discuss with your classmate:

Are you a fan of The Simpsons? If so, describe another funny moment from the series.

Describe the basic stories of other famous TV cartoons (e.g. South Park, Tom & Jerry, Family Guy, Bugs Bunny,

Road Runner, Daffy Duck, Futurama, Beavis and Butthead, Shin Chan, The Flintstones, etc).

Modern-day cartoons are much less violent than old cartoons. Do you think this has made cartoons less funny?

4a. Read

The text below describes some comedy tips. Read the text and then talk to your partner to answer the three questions below.

What is self-deprecating comedy?

Why is honesty funny?

What is the difference between a good joke and a good story?

The Art of Self-Deprecation

Let’s face it, success isn’t very funny. In the UK, often the most effective way of making people laugh is to tell a story that makes you look like a bit of a loser. So if you’re looking to begin your career as a stand-up comedian, follow these tips of how to self-deprecate with style:

1. Choose your story. Fact is usually much funnier than fiction so honesty is probably the best policy. Forget your ego and think about an embarrassing moment from when you were a child or a teenager. Or even think of something that

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© Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2017 2 Film and TV: TV / Comedy series FROM WEBSITE •PHOTOCOPIABLECAN BE DOWNLOADED Film and TV TV / Comedy series Worksheet has happened to you in the last few days: an email you sent, a conversation with a workmate. Remember to judge your audience correctly. Will they find it funny if you refer to alcohol or nudity? If not, you’ll need a rethink.

2. Set the scene. Where were you? Who were you with? Comedy almost always includes conflict between the scene and the comedy action. Maybe you were in a formal context where your later actions would be inappropriate. Maybe you were with people who you didn’t know very well. Maybe you needed to keep a secret.

3. Describe what happened. A rule of comedy is that a good joke can make people giggle while a good story can really make people crack up. Don’t get distracted with punchlines and telling funny one-liners, simply tell the story. It’s also useful to remember that comedians usually don’t laugh at their own stories. In fact, the dry humour of a serious narration is even more likely to have your audience in stitches.

4. Include your audience. For example, if you describe an angry boss, ask your audience: ‘Do you know anyone like that?’

Get the audience to help you by suggesting words: ‘He was such a terrible boss, you know? Like really …’ (Audience member): ‘Nasty!’ Try to make the audience feel like you’re all telling the story together. Oh, and don’t panic if your story bombs. Not everybody will appreciate your comic genius!

4b. Vocabulary

Now match the words or expressions from the article to their definitions. Vocabulary from the text Definition 1. a loser (A) to laugh a little 2. to do stand-up (B) the funny sentence at the end of a joke 3. to giggle (C) to tell a joke which nobody finds funny 4. to crack up (D) to perform comedy monologues in front of an audience 5. a punchline (E) to laugh a lot 6. a one-liner (F) to make another person laugh a lot 7. to have dry humour (G) a person without success 8. to have (sby) in stitches (H) to be very funny but without showing emotion, often in a sarcastic way 9. to bomb (I) a very short joke or a brief, funny comment

4c. Speak

Talk in pairs. Follow the instructions in the text to help you describe a funny story that happened to you.

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5. Listen and speak You are going to watch a scene from the British series The IT Crowd (Channel 4). The series tells the story of two IT technicians who love technology but have very bad social skills. Watch the video and answer the questions below. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EBfxjSFAxQ

* vocabulary note: an extinguisher is a metal cylinder which contains a substance for stopping fires

a. Why is the man confused when he reads the first instruction on the extinguisher?

b. Why does he put the extinguisher in a different part of the room?

c. What is the problem when he makes a phone call?

d. Why does he rewrite his initial email?

Discuss with your classmate:

How would you describe the type of humour in this clip? Explain.

Do you personally like this type of humour? Explain.

6. Speak A ‘sitcom’ is a situation-comedy TV series. Each episode usually lasts for about half an hour. Work in pairs. Each student needs to think of a sitcom (you could choose one from the box below if you wish). Then talk for a few minutes about the following three points:

• Describe the main characters

• Describe the setting

• Describe the basic story of one episode that you remember

Popular sitcoms Seinfeld / Cheers / Friends / Big Bang Theory / New Girl / That 70s Show / The Office / How I Met Your Mother / The Fresh Prince of Bel Air / Modern Family / Malcolm in the Middle / Mr. Bean / Absolutely Fabulous / Fawlty Towers / Yes Minister

7. Webquest (optional) You are going to research funny online videos.

Step 1: Work in groups. Each group is going to research a different online video which went viral because many people found it funny. Your teacher will tell you which video corresponds to your group.

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Videos: JK Wedding Entrance Dance Professor Robert Kelly’s BBC interview Ultimate Dog Tease Olly the Jack Russell at Cruft’s Dog Show Charlie Bit My Finger Matt McAllister’s Most T-shirts Worn at Once

Step 2: Use a computer or smartphone. First find the viral video on YouTube. Many of the videos have different versions so it’s useful to look for the video with the highest view count (as this is probably the original). Watch the video. Discuss with your group whether you found it funny.

Step 3: Search for more information about the video (e.g. using Wikipedia or news websites). Try to answer some of the questions below. Make some notes.

• Who is the person/animal in the video?

• How did the video become so famous?

• Why do you think it became so popular?

• What were the consequences of the video’s popularity?

Step 4: In your groups, present the viral video to the class. Give a brief introduction, show the video on the board/projector, explain further information about the video, answer any questions which your classmates may have.

Step 5: Have a class vote to decide the funniest video.

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